It was a disaster and something we couldn’t have foreseen. On 22. August 2005, a massive flood occurred during which a small tributary called Kleine Emme broke its banks so that water gushed onto our premises. The entire warehouse as well as our facilities in the basement were up to the ceiling in mud. When we looked behind our factory gates at the time, we thought that it was the end and we had to give up.

The next day, and once we had slept on it, we then started to clean up. Initially, we only used shovels before switching to professional equipment. Production started again 13 days later. We had plenty of helping hands, so with an incredible level of teamwork and a huge dollop of faith in our own abilities we were able to achieve an amazing result. It was an event that has had a key impact on the way we act and encouraged us to believe that we can also do the impossible. This credo has become part of our corporate DNA.